DROWNING OF NONSWIMMERS

1. Age is one of the major risk factors for drowning. This relationship is often associated
with a lapse in supervision. Globally, the highest drowning rates are among children 1-4
years, followed by children 5-9 years.
2. Gender
Males are especially at risk of drowning, with twice the overall mortality rate of
females. They are more likely to be hospitalized than females for non-fatal drowning.
Studies suggest that the higher drowning rates among males are due to increased
exposure to water and riskier behaviour such as swimming alone, drinking alcohol
before swimming alone and boating.
3. Access to water
Increased access to water is another risk factor for drowning. Individuals with
occupations such as commercial fishing or fishing for subsistence, using small boats
in low-income countries are more prone to drowning. Children who live near open
water sources, such as ditches, ponds, irrigation channels, or pools are especially at
risk.
4. Flood disasters
Drowning accounts for 75% of deaths in flood disasters. Flood disasters are
becoming more frequent and this trend is expected to continue. Drowning risks
increase with floods particularly in low- and middle-income countries where people
live in flood prone areas and the ability to warn, evacuate, or protect communities
from floods is weak or only just developing.
5. Travelling on water
Daily commuting and journeys made by migrants or asylum seekers often take place
on overcrowded, unsafe vessels lacking safety equipment or are operated by
personnel untrained in dealing with transport incidents or navigation. Personnel under
the influence of alcohol or drugs are also a risk.
6. lower socioeconomic status, being a member of an ethnic minority, lack of higher
education, and rural populations all tend to be associated.
7. infants left unsupervised or alone with another child around water;
8. alcohol use, near or in the water;
9. medical conditions, such as epilepsy
10. tourists unfamiliar with local water risks and features

the most common causes of drowning and how to prevent these situations.
1.

Lack of swimming ability.

The most common cause of drowning is not knowing how to swim. Many adults and children
will attempt to get into the water without proper swim training. Formal water safety and
swimming lessons under the supervision of a lifeguard can dramatically decrease the risk of
drowning.

2.

No barriers around the pool.

A four-sided fence separating the pool area from the house and yard reduces a child's risk of
drowning by 83%. While installing a fence may not be cheap, it is certainly worth the life of a
child. The fence should have a locking mechanism and be tall enough to prevent wandering
children from entering the pool area.

3.

Lack of supervision.
Drowning can happen anywhere there is water. Never leave a child unattended in or near a
bathtub, pool, pond, or even a bucket of water. There should always be a lifeguard on duty or a
competent supervising adult. Never swim alone and follow the 10/20 rule: scan the area every
10 seconds and always be able to reach the water within 20 seconds.

4.

Failure to wear life jackets.

72% of boating deaths that occurred during 2010 were caused by drowning, with 88% of victims
not wearing life jackets. When boating, you should always have enough life jackets - adult and
child-sized - for every person on the boat. Life jackets should be readily accessible and in good
shape. It is best to insist everyone wear a life jacket at all times. You never know when an
accident could occur.

5.

Alcohol use.
Alcohol use is involved in about 70% of water-related deaths among adolescents and adults.
One in five boating deaths involves alcohol, according to the CDC. Alcohol affects your
balance, coordination, judgment, and basic motor skills. Your ability to swim may be severely
limited under the influence of alcohol, and you may not be able to accurately judge how long or
how far you can swim. Avoid drinking alcohol before or during swimming, boating, or other
water activities. Do not drink alcohol while supervising children.

Basically there are two types of water crises, distress situations and drowning situations.
Distress situations are those in which swimmers with varying degrees of skill are unable, because
of tidal conditions (surf or tip tides) or fatigue, to return to shore without some assistance. The
important thing to remember about this type of individual is that because of his swimming skills,
among which I include floating, he is either positively or neutrally buoyant. This type of crisis is
most typically found at surf beaches
Drowning situations involve non-swimmers who, for a variety of reasons, suddenly find
themselves in water above their heads. A non-swimmer is defined here as an individual who
cannot support himself by swimming or floating. The important thing to remember about the
drowning non-swimmer is that while drowning, his buoyancy alternates between negative and
neutral buoyancy, and that the rescuer must first support the drowning person before he begins to

tow him back to safety. This crisis is most typically found in pools, lakes, and other non- surf
areas.
When drowning, the person:
1. Rarely is able to call out for help. This seemingly odd fact becomes believable
when one remembers that breathing, not speech, is the primary functions of the
respiratory system. Therefore, in time of extreme peril in water, breathing must
take precedence over speech. I believe that this phenomenon accounts for the fact
that throughout ON DROWNING you will see onlookers watching a person
drown, unaware that he is drowning because he has not called out for help. It must
be noted, however, that there have been some isolated instances at Orchard Beach
when a drowning non-swimmer has called out for help.
2. Has instinctual arm movements which, unlike the hailing or waving of persons
in distress, appear to push the victim upward in the water by thrashing the water
with both arms partially extended from his sides. Analysis of ON DROWNING
has shown that the arm movements of the non-swimmers are actually instinctive
efforts to keep their heads above water and remain breathing. Because this action
is instinctive, it is common to all non-swimmers, regardless of swimming areas.
Once a non-swimmer is in water over his head, instinct forces him to react .These
instinctive reactions which form a definite pattern are the basis of my film. This
type of arm movement cannot propel the victim in any direction, but can merely
raise and lower the drowning person in the water as he tries to breathe.
3. Usually manages to turn toward shore, with his body in an upright position,
with no apparent support kick. As the drowning progresses, the drowning persons
head sinks lower in the water. His arm movements become less visible - and more
feeble - until only the top of his head and grasping hands may be seen.The whole
process may be as long as 60 seconds or as short as 20 seconds.
For a non-swimmer cannot propel himself in any direction (having no swimmer skills), therefore
he cannot move toward the rescuer. Nor can he reach out and grab the rescuer because this act
requires a supporting kick. A rescuer can only be grasped if he applies faulty technique or swims
directly into the victims grasp. Putting the victim under control is the real problem of the
rescuer, for a nonswimmer will only cease struggling when the lifesaver supports him in such a
manner that drowning no longer seems imminent.
Experts differentiate between distress and drowning. They also divide drowning into passive and active:

Distress people in trouble, but who still have the ability to keep afloat, signal for help and take
actions.

Drowning people suffocating and in imminent danger of death within seconds. Drowning falls into
two categories:

Passive drowning people who suddenly sink or have sunk due to a change in their
circumstances. Examples include people who drown in an accident, or due to sudden loss of
consciousness or sudden medical condition.

Active drowning people such as non-swimmers and the exhausted or hypothermic at the
surface, who are unable to hold their mouth above water and are suffocating due to lack of air.
Instinctively, people in such cases perform well known behaviors in the last 2060 seconds before
being submerged, representing the body's last efforts to obtain air. Notably such people are unable to
call for help, talk, reach for rescue equipment, or alert swimmers even feet away, and they may drown
quickly and silently close to other swimmers or safety.

Drowning can also happen in ways that are less well known:

Deep water blackout caused by latent hypoxia upon ascent from depth, where the partial pressure of
oxygen in the lungs under pressure at the bottom of a deep free-dive is adequate to support
consciousness but drops below the blackout threshold as the water pressure decreases on the ascent. It
usually strikes upon arriving near the surface as the pressure approaches normal atmospheric pressure.

Shallow water blackout caused by hyperventilation prior to swimming or diving. The primary urge to
breathe (more precisely: to exhale) is triggered by rising carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the bloodstream.
[9]

The body detects CO2 levels very accurately and relies on this to control breathing. [9] Hyperventilation

artificially depletes this, but leaves the diver susceptible to sudden loss of consciousness without warning
from hypoxia. There is no bodily sensation that warns a diver of an impending blackout, and victims (often
capable swimmers swimming under the surface in shallow water) become unconscious and drown quietly
without alerting anyone to the fact that there is a problem; they are typically found on the bottom.

Secondary drowning Inhaled fluid can act as an irritant inside the lungs. Physiological responses to
even small quantities include the extrusion of liquid into the lungs (pulmonary edema) over the following
hours, but this reduces the ability to exchange air and can lead to a person "drowning in their own body
fluid." Certain poisonous vapors or gases (as for example in chemical warfare), or vomit can have a similar
effect. The reaction can take place up to 72 hours after a near drowning incident, and may lead to a
serious condition or death.

DROWNING AMONG SWIMMERS

For all swimmers, probably, training increases swimming skill and increases confidence in swimming skill
too. Both affect the persons risk taking. For some swimmers confidence in their swimming skill increases
more rapidly than their skill, causing them to take unwarranted risks. The fact that the best swimmers
drown, has to do with overconfidence.

Even the best swimmers can misjudge the water and their skills when boating or fishing; conditions
change quickly in open water.
Even the best swimmer can drown if theyre knocked out by a swinging boom on a sailboat, or if they lose
their grip on an overturned boat because the water is too cold.